KOCHI: Some time last year, Pramod Nichat, a retired engineer, was searching the internet after the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition — filed by a group of farmers he led — seeking higher compensation for the GAIL gas pipeline passing through their farms across Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. The HC had asked the farmers, numbering about 100, to approach the district judge’s court.
Nichat found that Kochi-based lawyer T R S Kumar specialises in land acquisition cases, and had fought and won several cases, earning fair compensation for people affected by land acquisition. He also found that in Kerala the compensation for landowners who allow GAIL to lay the gas pipeline through their property was doubled and the compensation was fixed by pegging the market rate at 10 times the fair price.
“After seeing various news reports, I approached Kumar, and he agreed to take up our case. The affected farmers are several thousand, and they are uneducated and unaware about the law,” Nichat told TNIE over the phone from Nagpur.
According to Kumar, almost all petitions filed by farmers at the Nagpur court were dismissed because they were not filed properly. GAIL’s Samridhi gas pipeline includes 700km from Mumbai to Nagpur, and from there it is bifurcated with one pipeline going up to Jharsuguda in Odisha and another to Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, affecting thousands of farmers.
“GAIL has given only 10% of the fair value to farmers whereas under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, they are eligible to get market value plus 100% solatium and 12% additional value. What we are seeing is that there is state-sponsored cheating,” said Kumar, adding that more than 50,000 farmers are at the receiving end of this “day-light robbery.”
He said the GAIL pipe laying should be considered as land acquisition under the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 as the property cannot be used for any purpose, be it construction or farming while GAIL was relying on the PMP (Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines Act) which provides only for 10% of the market value.
“What GAIL covers up is the fact that the PMP Act is brought under the purview of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013,” Kumar pointed out.
Nichat said GAIL is laying the pipeline by force and with the support of police. “Farmers are fearful,” he said, adding that he too is an affected party as the gas pipeline passes through his land in Nagpur.
A fresh petition was filed at the Nagpur bench and Kumar flew down to argue his case for more than an hour. GAIL was supposed to respond to the fresh petition by February 14.
“It’s the fifth week and it has not responded yet,” Nichat said. TNIE’s mail to GAIL spokesman seeking comments did not elicit any response.
Meanwhile, to make farmers aware of The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, a Marathi translation of the book authored by Kumar is being launched. Nichat expressed confidence that farmers will be aware of the new Act once the Marathi translation is out.
“We are planning to distribute the book widely among the farmers,” he said.
The Kerala link
Pramod Nichat finds on internet Kochi-based lawyer T R S Kumar who is specialised in land acquisition cases after HC Nagpur bench dismisses a petition filed by a farm group led by him
Kumar had fought and won several cases, earning fair compensation for people affected by land acquisition